One-room schoolhouse. 1871. Roditt Township, Illinois.
My friend, epic cyclist Dan Libman, hipped me to this a one-room schoolhouse at the intersection of Rock City and Kelly Roads, west of Rockford. Built in 1871, the building is remarkably well-preserved considering the brutal winters that have howled around and through it for the last hundred and forty-four years.
The Civil War was over for only six years when the town erected this schoolhouse. The empty bell tower, the acres of quiet surrounding farmlands, the gravel road that leads away going west, the few cars that fly past on Rock City—this structure evokes a time long, long gone.
The south side of the building:
As the doors aren't boarded up, I poked my head in and saw that someone had dragged inside a red plastic deck chair and a busted-up sofa. The result is a virtual stage set, telling what story I'm not sure:
2 comments:
I drove by this schoolhouse many times when I worked in Freeport. Went inside it one day and the little hooks where long ago kids hung their coats were still in the wall. It was a cool and eerie experience. Could almost feel the ghosts hanging out.
Conny, very cool! I just saw this.
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